People over the age of 65 taking a tricyclic antidepressant were 1.7 times more likely to attempt suicide or self harm during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) were 2.2 times more likely to attempt suicide or self harm during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking mirtazapine (Remeron) or venlafaxine (Effexor), referred to as “other antidepressants”, were 5.2 times more likely to attempt suicide or self harm during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking mirtazapine (Remeron) or venlafaxine (Effexor), referred to as “other antidepressants”, were 1.7 times more likely to die during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for depression were 1.7 times more likely to fall (and 1.6 times more likely to get a fracture) compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking mirtazapine (Remeron) or venlafaxine (Effexor), referred to as “other antidepressants”, were 1.4 times more likely to have an ischemic stroke (where a blood clot interrupts the flow of blood) or transient ischemic attack during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

People over the age of 65 taking mirtazapine (Remeron) or venlafaxine (Effexor), referred to as “other antidepressants”, were 2.2 times more likely to have a seizure during the study period compared to when antidepressants were not being used according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

All-cause mortality over one-year was 16% higher (after adjustments) in people over 65 taking a tricyclic antidepressant compared to when patients were not taking an antidepressant according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

The absolute death rate was 8.12% over one year in those taking a tricyclic antidepressant compared to 7.04% for those not taking an antidepressant.

All-cause mortality over one-year was 54% higher in people over 65 taking other serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) compared to when patients were not taking an antidepressant according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

All-cause mortality over one-year was 51% higher in people over 65 taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant compared to when patients were not taking an antidepressant according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

The absolute death rate was 10.61% over one year in those taking a tricyclic antidepressant compared to 7.04% for those not taking an antidepressant.

All-cause mortality over one-year was 66% higher in people over 65 taking mirtazapine (Remeron) or venlafaxine (Effexor), referred to as “other antidepressants”, compared to when patients were not taking an antidepressant according to a 2011 study from the U.K.

The absolute death rate was 11.43% over one year in those taking a other antidepressants compared to 7.04% for those not taking an antidepressant.

It can take months or years to get off of an antidepressant and some people never succeed notes Prof. Peter Gøtzsche, MD.

Withdrawal symptoms of antidepressants are very similar to those of benzodiazepines, 37 of 42 symptoms were the same, Dr. Gøtzsche notes.

Half of patients say that they are dependent on [addicted to] antidepressants and it is difficult to stop.

In 2003, the W.H.O. reported that fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) were among the top 30 highest ranking drugs for which drug dependence had ever been reported.

Fluoxetine (Prozac) and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) increase the risk of suicide. The Boston Globe wrote an article talking about this in 2000. The article noted that…

“The company’s internal documents [Eli Lilly and Co.], some dating to the mid-1980s, as well as government applications and patents, indicate that the pharmaceutical giant has known for years that its best-selling drug could cause suicidal reactions in a small but significant number of patients.

“Internal documents show that in 1990, Lilly scientists were pressured by corporate executives to alter records on physician experiences with Prozac [fluoxetine], changing mentions of suicide attempt to “overdose” and suicidal thoughts to “depression.”

Fluoxetine (Prozac) and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) increase the risk of suicide. The Boston Globe wrote an article talking about this in 2000. The article noted that…

“Three years before Prozac [fluoxetine] received approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 1987, the German BGA, that country’s FDA equivalent, had such serious reservations about Prozac’s safety that it refused to approve the antidepressant based on Lilly’s studies showing that previously nonsuicidal patients who took the drug had a fivefold [5-fold] higher rate of suicides and suicide attempts than those on older antidepressants, and a threefold [3-fold] higher rate than those taking placebos.”

Fluoxetine (Prozac) and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) increase the risk of suicide. The Boston Globe wrote an article talking about this in 2000. The article noted that…

“Lilly’s own figures, in reports made available to the Globe, indicate that 1 in 100 previously nonsuicidal patients who took the drug in early clinical trials developed a severe form of anxiety and agitation called akathisia, causing them to attempt or commit suicide during the studies.”

The article later notes that:

“Yet the problems with Prozac were known even before it was introduced to the US market. Figures in a 1984 Lilly document indicated that akathisia, the severe agitation that can lead to suicide, occurs in at least 1 percent of patients, a level considered a “frequent” event, and as such must be disclosed in a company’s product literature and package inserts. But there is no such disclosure in Prozac’s US literature, and it is not clear whether the FDA panel charged with approving Prozac simply overlooked or did not have access to certain critical data of Lilly’s.

“As a result, researchers say that most US doctors do not know to warn patients of the potentially dangerous effect which, according to published literature on the topic, can be alleviated with sedatives or by going off the drug.

“German regulators, who eventually approved Prozac for use in that country, require a warning label about the risk of suicide and suggest the concurrent use of sedatives when necessary.

“Akathisia is listed in Lilly’s US product literature, but as an infrequent event in Prozac users. No mention is made of its potential relationship to suicide.”

Fluoxetine (Prozac) and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) increase the risk of suicide. The Boston Globe wrote an article talking about this in 2000. The article noted that…

“Using figures on Prozac both from Lilly and independent research, however, Dr. David Healy, an expert on the brain’s serotonin system and director of the North Wales Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales, estimated that ‘probably 50,000 people have committed suicide on Prozac since its launch, over and above the number who would have done so if left untreated.’”

[And this was as of the year 2000.]

Here is an amazing before and after picture of a woman named Mary treated for long-term depression with a nutritional approach at Joan Mathews Larson PhD’s clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Health Recovery Center.

Here is what Dr. Larson says.

“I want to leave this impression as we talk about antidepressants.

“Here is a picture, and I think a picture is worth a thousand words.

“Here is a woman who had been for a long time going from place to place… 14 years.

“And her father was a medical doctor.

“And he was somewhat alarmed when she said she wanted to go to [Dr. Larson’s] Health Recovery Center, but then, looking at the whole picture, he said she was going to die anyway, and so it really did not matter.

“She truly had many drugs given to her, and was a great fan of 12-Steps [Talk Therapy] for a long time.

“This is a picture of Mary 6 months later.

“So in every one of the clients that you treat, there is a Mary waiting to be released.”

—Joan Mathews Larson, PhD, speaking at a conference on Sept 27, 2007

SSRI’s increase the risk of suicide, Parkinson’s Disease and restless legs notes Joan Mathews Larson PhD in this video clip.

SSRI’s may increase risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer, and interfere with REM sleep and cause memory problems notes Joan Mathews Larson PhD in this video clip.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluoxetine (Prozac) make things worse notes Joan Mathews Larson, PhD in this video clip.